


Green and Red

by ZetSway



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Drabbles, F/M, NSFW, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-08-29
Updated: 2013-12-16
Packaged: 2017-11-13 03:45:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 9,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/499111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZetSway/pseuds/ZetSway
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of drabbles featuring Thane and Shepard. Inspired by fan-provided prompts - NSFW and others.<br/>UPDATE: revisiting, editing, and improving the first 15 chapters or so.<br/>Progress: 2/15</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Patience

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Thane/femShep - femdom.
> 
> Mass Effect and all associated characters belong to Bioware. I make no money from this fanfiction.

When he thinks about it, Thane's not entirely sure how he ended up in a romantic relationship with the legendary Commander Shepard. By some exciting twist of fate, she fell right into his arms, saved him from destroying himself, and taught him how to love again. Shepard was loyal, strong, and above all, kind and patient.

Her patience, however… had its disadvantages. Like how she so patiently worked him, bit by painful bit, to the precipice of the most sensational pleasure of his life...

And left him hanging there.

"Patience, my love," she whispered. "You would think after all those years of assassin training you would have better control over yourself." The tone of her voice was thick with a sick kind of lust. She wore a smirk on her face that gave away just how much she enjoyed toying with him in this way - here, in her bedroom, pushing him firmly into the mattress with her unnaturally strong biotic abilities.

"Patience-" Thane grunted as she smooted her tongue up the underside of his shaft, "-is not as simple a concept as it seems when the pleasure at your touch is-" hot breath whispered over his erection and she scraped her fingernails _just_ hard enough over his inner thighs, "-more powerful than any memory I would have to fall back on, Siha." His head fell back with a sigh as she abruptly took him into her mouth. His muscles screamed for relief, for the ability to squirm _just enough_ to touch her. Just one more second, just one more spark of friction would be enough… if only she would-

She withdrew. Stood at the foot of the bed with one hand hanging casually in the air to maintain her biotic force. Enraptured by the very image of her, Thane thought very quickly about how to overthrow her control and end the slow buildup that he suddenly didn't care for, not after being teased for _so damn long._ Shepard was an outright sexy woman when she wanted to be, engulfed in a profound aura of confidence about her that set his blood on _fire_.

But then she finally let go, biotics winking out in one blissful second, and his body surged with reawakened desire.

Her body alight with crackling blue power, she descended upon him, and that night he truly did see stars.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> If you enjoy my fanfiction, please consider entertaining yourself on my Thane and drell-centric blog, featuring fan art and fanfiction by many other talented fans. - My blog may feature NSFW content - 
> 
> DRELL BLOG - username zet-sway.


	2. Kindness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Renegade Shepard finally letting her guard down. 
> 
> Mass Effect and all associated characters belong to Bioware. I make no money from this fanfiction.

Being nice never got her anywhere.

She remembers being a small child on Earth, attending school and being taught the values of kindness. She'd tried, being polite to the other children, the older kids who'd bullied her. She still remembers their mocking laughter. The true lessons she'd learned were that kindness meant being stepped on and used – kindness meant vulnerability.

She was getting tired of being strong. In recent months, there were times when she wondered - thought to herself that it might not be so bad to be taken advantage of. It might not be so bad to be vulnerable.

Like now, with an assassin in her arms. Of all the times in her life that she's been faced with tears, with the task of comforting a distraught teammate, this is the one time she hasn't thought it a burden. The most lethal man in the galaxy has turned up at her doorstep at his weakest moment and she's humbled in a disquieting way.

He's _crying_. With every one of his tears that fall a tiny piece of her shatters, like stones chipping away at her time-thickened armor. Perhaps it's she sees a small part of herself in him, scared and otherwise alone in a world full of people who frown on any form of weakness. Being strong slowly ceases to be important, because if he can cry, so can she.

His desperate confession of fear shatters her, and before she's even thought about it she's reaching for his face, fingertips brushing the soft ribbing at his throat. A moment hangs between them. In this moment, painfully aware of her mortality, she allows herself to share in his weakness. She's never felt so _liberated_. If ever a display of kindness, of heartfelt emotion has been appropriate, it's now. She tries to forget that she might not have another chance.

So she kisses him. Pulls his shaking body close and hopes she can take away the pain and the fear. His lips are warm and the texture is different than what she's used to, but he's wonderful. Her heart breaks as they cross this threshold of only now fully realized desire. What if they don't make it? What if their first kiss is also their last? She wraps her arms around his neck and kisses him with everything she has, trying in vain to hide the tears already stinging her eyes.

Their sadness and lust is bittersweet on their eve of the unknown. It doesn't matter that he's not human. Every gentle and exploratory touch dulls the pain bit by tiny bit until all that matters is his body against hers, moving in time to every hitched breath, every pleasured sigh, until there's nothing left in the galaxy but the two of them. She inhales him like the freshest, cleanest air and nothing is more clear than the climax rushing upon them both.

The quiet that descends upon them in the aftermath of their lovemaking is soothing. Shepard rests her head on his shoulder and breathes deep, doing what she can to etch this moment in her mind forever. In the silence, she thinks to herself that they damn well better get out of this alive.

Because she needs this. She needs the one man who doesn't see weakness in tears. She needs the one man she can share kindness with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> If you enjoy my fanfiction, please consider entertaining yourself on my Thane and drell-centric blog, featuring fan art and fanfiction by many other talented fans. - My blog may feature NSFW content -
> 
> DRELL BLOG - username zet-sway.


	3. Sneaky

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tumblr prompt: Thane using his sneaky skills to creep up on Shepard and have his wicked way with her somewhere unexpected.
> 
> Mass Effect and all associated characters belongs to Bioware. I make no money from this fanfiction.

In the dim hallways of the Shadow Broker's ship, he leaves her side for just a moment.

She stops. "Thane?" she says quietly, cautiously. She knows him well enough to know how he prefers to operate. She keeps on walking. He'll catch up.

His catching up comes sooner than she expects, however. In an instant, he's on her, pulling her against his body before ducking into a shadowed corner. She barely has time to gasp before he crushes their lips together.

With some guilt, he can't help but admit how often his thought dwell on her. Shepard, his Siha, filled with that fighting spirit he has come to love so well… and her beautiful, exciting, _soft_ human body. Desire overtakes him at the strangest times and his desires are difficult to resist.

"Thane…" she murmurs into his mouth, "Liara and Feron…"

"Liara and Feron can wait," he rasps, tongue darting between her parted lips. She melts against him, body fighting to be closer and closer to his own. His hand flicks open her pants and slips between her legs. She moans as his fingertips brush her heat.

"Is this your thing, then?" She chokes out the words between feverish kisses from his insistent mouth. "You like to use your sneaky assassin skills to surprise your lovers?"

He chuckles against her. "I may have done this a few times before."

"No," she says incredulously, pulling away to look at him. "With your wife? You wouldn't."

His face splits into a grin. "Our relationship was not solemn and chaste, Siha." His joined fingers tease her entrance. "Far from it, in fact."

Without another word, he pushes inside her, pressing against her core in strong, firm strokes. The cry from her lips is so loud that for a moment he fears she might be heard. But why should he care? Her pleasure is his pleasure. And she feels _incredible_.

She comes with his name on her lips, arching against his deft fingers.


	4. At the End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My own (sub-par) rendition of Thane's final rites.
> 
> Shepard's point of view.
> 
> Mass Effect and all associated characters belongs to Bioware. I make no money from this fanfiction.

"Garrus," I speak softly, trying to hide the sorrow in my voice, to choke down the tears. "There is something I have to do. I want you to…" a pause to gather myself. A deep breath to find my center. I have to be Commander Shepard right now. Right now and always. But my loss is like a fist around my heart, squeezing it to fill in the void left by his passing.

"Talk to Traynor. She mentioned something that may be a huge asset to us in the war. Inform the crew that I will be away for no more than two days and they are to proceed with business as usual. You are in charge while I'm gone. I'll be in touch."

"You got it, Shepard. Our thoughts are with you."

-

Aboard a hanar vessel to Kahje, there isn't anything to be done. No responsibilities. No missions. I have never hated it so much in my life.

Alone with my thoughts, I sit quietly by the swaying litter that his body rests upon and let my tears flow freely. No matter how I had attempted to accept his inevitable passing, none of my mental preparedness eases my mourning heart.

Thane was always there, just a call or message away, even while he resided on the Citadel. He was my bedtime story, my routine and my wakeup call. He was everything, despite the distance, despite our vastly different schedules. And now that he is gone… everything is upside down. I can't so much as sleep on this unfamiliar ship. So I stay by his side, even if his soul is long gone, in the arms of Kalahira, I know no other way to cope.

A soft tap on my shoulder rouses me from my thoughts - Kolyat. I wipe my eyes and turn to face him. Our relationship is rocky at best. He's a little awkward, a little burned to find that after all those years without a father or a mother, Thane had appeared with a new woman by his side. But he accepts me. At the very least, we share grief at the loss of his father, my lover, our pillar of strength and wisdom.

"You should get some rest," he says softly, kneeling beside me. "You haven't slept in nearly two days."

"I'll sleep when I'm dead." My words are hollow. I want nothing more than to sleep. But it's so hard to lay in the stillness and the quiet and allow the dark thoughts to invade my head.

"You'll be dead a lot sooner if you don't rest."

A quiet sob escapes me and I can feel the grief returning, overtaking, wrenching control from me just as it has so many times in these two short days. He takes me into his arms and I can hear his heart beat strong and healthy. Through the tears, one small glimmer of hope shines through. My life and my love, Thane Krios, lives on in his son. If nothing else, Kolyat has a chance to live the life Thane never had. And while he may not be my son, and I may not be his mother, I want to protect him. To drive back the reapers so he can love as I have, as his father had.

It doesn't take me long to fall asleep.

-

They've wrapped his body in sea vines, weighted it with stones. The hanar lift him off the platform, they sing like bells. "The fire has gone to be kindled anew!" They let his body slide into the water. It rains. He once told me, it always rains on Kahje. Warm water pours down my face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Additional headcanon:
> 
> Thane is laid to rest naked. His beliefs hold that he came into the world that way, and he will leave the world that way.
> 
> Irikah's parents are bitter. While she tried to keep it from them that Thane was an assassin, word did eventually get around years after her death. They don't know the details, they don't know what he went through to avenge her, but they know enough to realize that their feelings so long ago that something was 'off' about him were true, and hold him responsible for her death. They attend their son-in-law's funeral only for the sake of their grandson, Kolyat.


	5. Oxygen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tumblr prompt: FemShep with a kink for Thane's breather hood helmet thing (I honestly don't know what to call it).
> 
> Shepard's point of view.
> 
> Mass Effect and all associated characters belongs to Bioware. I make no money from this fanfiction.

There are days on the Normandy where missions are simple and resistance is little to nonexistant. Like retrieving items and technology from deserted space wreckage.

I always take a team no matter what. No mission is too easy or small to risk being unprepared. Tali, Thane, and I spent most of our time allowing EDI to direct us to what we needed before exiting the craft and returning to the Normandy.

I remove my helmet and pull Thane aside just as he is about to step out of the airlock. He begins to remove his mask but I stop him.

"Keep it on. Follow me."

—

Tucked away quietly in my cabin, I wordlessly confess my secret to him. There is a certain feeling I get from viewing a man so tightly wrapped in headgear this way. Some would call it a bondage kink, and there are plenty of vids on the extranet involving hoods used for those purposes. Some would assume some kind of breath play to be involved, but although there is a feeling of dominance, it is much simpler than that.

It's something about the sleek and streamlined way Thane's hood clings so tightly to his neck, his face. The way the fabric plays over his lips as they move, the way the zipper follows the column of his throat. If ever there were a time to strangle a drell, it would be now, hyoid constricted by an apparatus meant to sustain life in zero oxygen environments. And although it's true he has the upper hand, that he can defend himself against me at a moment's notice, he allows me this in perfect trust.

I wonder how well he can see me behind his red goggles. I wonder why they're red in the first place, but it doesn't matter. The simple act of wearing his hood in this place and time, as I lower him to my bed and climb atop him, seems to pull a certain kind of calm over him. Thane is, for all intents and purposes, a calm man, but here and now, he lets me take the lead. Lets me undress him and kiss him tentatively through the black barrier between our lips. Certainly he's aware that different people enjoy different flavors of lovemaking, but I was never sure how he would react to this.

It's almost like making love to a stranger. Almost. I can't feel his breath hiss through his teeth as I ride him the way I know he likes it, and I can't see the expressions on his face, but he's still Thane. It's the subtle differences that make it exhilarating. His voice sounds different through his mask, but it never loses it's rumble, it's raspy undertone that is so unmistakably Thane. And when I can feel he's almost at his peak, I finally release him. Flushed lips parted, spine bowing off the bed as he gasps and moans with the rush of fresh air, fueling the cresting pleasure of his climax.

And it's this that seals the deal. "We are doing this again," are the only words on his lips when we finish.


	6. Love is Blind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tumblr prompt: "How about Shepard pulling Thane onto the table in life support and gettin busy?"
> 
> Thane's point of view.
> 
> Mass Effect and all associated characters belongs to Bioware. I make no money from this fanfiction.

If there is one thing I am learning about humans, it is that their expression "Love is blind," is quickly becoming an irrefutable truth.

There is not a single thing I would change about her, not a single flaw I would have removed or boon I would have bestowed. Her confidence, the way she approaches me, seated alone in the Normady's life support room, takes my breath away. Only days ago did I have the privilege of learning her body, and it is as though we have crossed an intangible boundary. I am free to experience her as I please, and she to experience me as she pleases.

She takes my hand, slides into my lap. "I've had a long day," she whispers, and I am positive I know exactly what the tone of her voice implies. I stand, lift her surprisingly light body with me and set her on the edge of the table before me - breathing softly into her neck.

"I'm sure your day was easy, when compared to your trials against the collectors, and that you are looking for a reason to advance on me, Siha," I murmur between kisses along her neck.

"Like you're complaining." Her hands are deftly removing the clasps on the front of my jacket.

"Like you need an excuse to take me to your bed," I counter.

Her lips catch mine in a searing kiss. "I'm not taking you to my bed this time, love. I had thought I could have you right here," her breath is warm on my neck, her tongue laving the softer, sensitive flesh there and drawing a low, vibrating hum from my throat.

"You may have anything you desire from me, Siha."

I lay her against the table, climbing atop to lie between her thighs and learn her in a whole new way all over again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Random headcanon:
> 
> Thane's perfect memory serves him well when learning the language of another species, which he has done many times in his line of work. Romanced Thane teaches himself Shepard's native language very quickly in his spare time.


	7. Rage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tumblr prompt: Angry Shrios smut.
> 
> Third person!
> 
> Warning for consensual, non-graphic violence.
> 
> Mass Effect and all associated characters belongs to Bioware. I make no money from this fanfiction.

His fury sustains her.

It's a fire in her blood like she's never felt before. Desire awakened in the very depths of her consciousness that she had thought died along with her body two years before.

Thane, gentle Thane, level-headed Thane, with guilt and regret pressing heavy on his shoulders - she will never forget, not after tonight, that he is a killer. She pulls it from him at his protest, begging him to let go and give in. I can take it she says, lay it on me. It's not good for him, she believes wholeheartedly. If there's one thing all hear years of military training has taught her, it's never to keep this kind of thing locked up.

He doesn't want to, doesn't want to hurt her. She is human after all, but as the wiry strength of his species surprises her, so too does her strength surprise him. So he lets it go, all his hurt and pain, all the discipline that he's struggled with to keep it to himself. The rage that he holds, that he always thought would be lifted from him if only he was faithful to his wife and his son and his gods, boils in his blood as he descends upon her.

She'll have bruises when he's finished. Scabs and rashes that she will bear with pride, the receptacles of his pain. And he'll surely regret his actions, but she hopes he'll come to understand. Understand that this is the only way she knows how to help him.

And it's wonderful. The pinnacle of lust and desire and the heat thundering in her veins. She never wants it to stop, and if ever she's thought hard about being his warrior angel, it's now, soaking up his inferno of passion, rage, and lust. It feels so damn good. She clings to every sensation, arching against him, thighs tensing, screaming as she stands on the precipice. She wants with every breath to crest over the edge - but doesn't want to. Wants to stay here and savor this feeling and the adrenaline and the cyclone of emotions raging in her heart, the indescribable sexual energy she hasn't had in so damn long-

She finishes because his body demands it. His soul demands it. She shakes and gasps and floats down from her high, back to reality.

He is whole again. She is whole again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Additional headcanon:
> 
> Thane's many years in isolation brought out many pained emotions in him. He prayed and meditated devoutly to his gods to take the pain away, to make him whole again. Many times he contemplated taking his own life, but his dogma holds that should he kill himself, he may never find his way across the Sea. He held on to life until his devotion was rewarded, until, whether romanced or not, he found Shepard.


	8. Jealous Man

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tumblr prompt: "Thane feels he is in competition with another crew member (anyone you want, although Garrus is always funny) for Shep's attention."
> 
> Third person point of view!
> 
> Mass Effect and all associated characters belongs to Bioware. I make no money from this fanfiction.

He doesn't like to consider himself a jealous man. Not a possessive or controlling person. But he can't deny that there are things that she does that make his skin crawl.

Garrus is her best friend. He was with her for Saren and he'll be with her for the Collectors, but that doesn't stop his teeth from clenching when he sees them together. He doesn't doubt her affection for himself, but he swears there is more than just friendship in the way his turian teammate looks at her. And now that he has voiced his affection for her, he feels more territorial than he can ever remember.

When she comes to bed that night, he knows they've been drinking together, can smell the alcohol on her breath. Sweet red wine. There's only one person on the ship who drinks with her, and he feels his blood begin to boil. She's not drunk, she doesn't enjoy being drunk, but it's there. He growls low in his throat and pulls her close.

There is a silent communication between them. An understood passing of knowledge when he catches her eyes and she knows he knows, knows he doesn't like it, but they've talked about this before. For a moment she's almost afraid he'll snap, the killer in him as evident as ever, but he holds her closer and meets her lips in a hard kiss.

He won't let her touch him. Lays her back on the bed and crawls between her legs, hot breath ghosting over her sex and she shivers.

"Always remember, Siha," he growls, "there will never be another like me."

He loves how vocal she is, how her hips tremble and how she moans when he teases her clit with his lips. Joined fingers slide into her heat, pressing, searching, rewarded with a sharp cry when he finds her internal pleasure center. He can't help but smile as she arches off the bed, just as he knew she would. She's calling his name, begging him to never stop with each thrust of his fingers and every lash of his tongue, quivering and shaking, orgasm threatening to burst forth at any moment.

He holds her there, suspended in a state of perpetual pleasure as only he can. No one will ever know her this way, no one will ever please her as well as he does. When his body is cold and dead, she will long for his touch even as she is in the arms of another. And with that final thought, he smirks and shoves her none too gently over the edge.

She screams when she comes, gasping incoherently because he won't stop and it hurts but it feels so fucking good and within moments he's pulled another climax from her, and a third, before she finally slumps against the bed.

"No," she whispers, "there will never be another like you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates will come intermittently as I feel inspired and as I receive prompts over the interwebz! Feel free to PM a prompt to me as well! Yay!
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	9. Kink

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by an image on DeviantArt.
> 
> http://k-laine.deviantart.com/art/art-trade-Raven7Wings-324139606
> 
> Third person perspective.
> 
> Mass Effect and all associated characters belongs to Bioware. I make no money from this fanfiction.

It was her idea.

Not normally his thing, but he always has enjoyed their more sexually adventurous nights. Strung up in the cargo bay by her hands, he has to admit the position does… attractive things to her naked breasts.

As he stands before her, ever the assassin, it’s impossible to tell quite where his mind is. She squirms, thighs tensing in anticipation, trying to relieve the incredible pressure building between her legs despite him not having laid a hand on her yet. His eyes roam over her, assessing her, trying to decide how to best proceed, how to best enjoy her body and maximize her own pleasure.

He steps closer, hands resting on her hips and traveling up her sides, down her back with the most featherlight touches that make her shiver. She tries her best to wrap a leg around him, desperately wanting to grind on him, his hardness evident through his pants. 

He pulls her close, peers into her eyes, her pale breasts softly compressing against his chest. He could say something, she always loves it when he talks dirty to her, but tonight he thinks he’ll let his body do the talking.

Holding her close with his palms pressed to her shoulders, he leans for their first kiss of the evening, a promise of pleasure to come.


	10. Beginning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm attempting to jump on the bandwagon and do that 30 days of writing. The first prompt is called "Beginning." I guess every Thane writer has to write the night before the collector base at some point...
> 
> Thane's point of view.
> 
> Mass Effect and all associated characters belong to Bioware. I make no money from this fanfiction.

In the beginning, everything is slow. Slow, to calm the raging torrent of emotions in my head. Slow, to get my thoughts in order, to process every new sensation.

Her kiss is a thief, but a thief I welcome without hesitation. She steals my breath and so much more. Her kiss… what I'd hoped for but hadn't dare to expect, one last chance to give myself to her.

She takes me by surprise, catching me by off guard with nothing more than that soft kiss, and in that one moment, everything changes. My heart races, not for fear of my demise but for the promise of this final night with her. For the first time, I hold her, taste her, exhilarated and terrified for our future.

Step by step, she leads me to bed, climbs into my lap and I allow her to take the lead.

"We can stop,"she says quietly.

"Never stop, Siha." I don't recognize my own voice, heavy with intense, unfamiliar desire. She presses my back into the bed.

She possesses a confidence I have only seen once before in my life. An echo of my former love, she meets my eyes, takes her time dismantling her uniform, and she doesn't need to ask if I like what I see; my reaction is evident beneath her hips. Yes, she is a Siha. A demigoddess. And for a moment it's as if she possesses Irikah's soul.

There's no rush. Oblivious to the minutes ticking by, we learn one another. The way her body warms beneath my touch, the way her eyes dilate from my kiss. My throat rumbles with each pleasured sigh and she presses her lips there, laving my skin with open mouthed kisses that make me ache to take her.

It's over too quickly for both of us, but then, all the time in the world would not have been enough. In the afterglow, she rests her head on my shoulder and I hold her close, clinging to every precious second.


	11. Five Things Thane has Learned about Commander Shepard

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mass Effect and all associated characters belong to Bioware. I make no money from this fanfiction.

Thane spent much of his life alone. He likes to read, and considers himself a knowledgeable man. Pleasuring human women in the bedroom, however, was never a subject he considered important. Until Shepard.

Recently, he’s learned a few valuable things about her.

**Her breasts are very sensitive.**

Breasts were never something he considered before, not before fate had him falling for a human woman. It quickly became evident why so many species in the galaxy love them. Soft and weighted in his hands, he loves most of all the way she moans when he touches her there. He begins with his palm, rolling her breast in his hand before brushing his fingertips across her hardening nipple. His name is a breathy whisper on her lips, heat pooling between her thighs. Lips descend on her breast and those whispers become pleasured cries. She melts in his arms, all his for the taking.

 

**She loves to be blindfolded**

Losing her sense of vision heightens all of her other senses. He takes his time with her, ghosting his hands over her body before withdrawing them completely. He is silent. She never knows where he’ll be next. A hot breath on her neck, a quick squeeze of her breast, and finally two fused fingers tracing her slit between slightly parted legs. Such a tease. His fingertips massage her opening and she squirms in attempt to urge him deeper. He denies her, and suddenly she feels his hot tongue on her clit and she all but screams.

 

**She loves for him to pull her hair.**

He is definitely no stranger to the ways pain mixes with pleasure, but he always feels bad when she whispers for him to pull her hair. He can’t deny that he feels like a monster, railing her from behind in her favorite position with a fistful of her cherry red hair. But he feels empowered at the same time. She wants this. Wants the pain at his hands, her head pulled back, unable to stifle her cries. He loves that sound, loves that she’s not afraid to be loud and be heard, communicating every wave of ecstasy back to him with each resounding moan.

 

**Her whole body becomes hypersensitive after climax.**

She shivers and quakes in his arms, gasping when he drags his fingertips down her spine. She takes a few minutes to recover before planting a small kiss on the corner of his mouth. Slowly, she begins to ride him again, body undulating over his. Her position shifts, feet planted beside him as she leans back and rests on her palms. He groans in appreciation. Such a stunning view, raw and carnal, his cock sheathed within her and her breasts bouncing as she takes his pleasure to new heights. But he can’t help himself. He reaches out to rub her clit with his thumb and she moves faster, lovely voice echoing off the walls as she comes a second time.

 

**She has a toy to pleasure herself when he is gone.**

It’s purple. About three inches long. Based on his extranet research, he’s learned that all it does is vibrate, but its vibrations are profound. He discovered it by mistake, searching for a datapad she asked him to retrieve from her quarters. She doesn’t know he knows, but he’s itching to see her use it, legs spread wide, knees up as she moves it just so over her clit, changing the angle here and there and arching slowly off with the steady buildup of her inevitable climax. Even better, he’d love to be the one to use it on her. One day…

Yes, Thane Krios is a knowledgeable man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Additional headcanon:
> 
> Thane is very anatomically acquainted with pretty much every race he's encountered. It is, after all, important to understand the target's body in order to kill them in the swiftest, most efficient manner. He's never bothered to become sexually educated on other races, though. Maybe one or two out of curiosity, but never out of desire. 
> 
> I personally think that drell women don't have breasts (it's easy to speculate either way, given the information in the codex, and certainly I have no disrespect for anyone who believes that they do have breasts), and therefore Thane hasn't really ever had the opportunity to get up close and personal with them. He thinks it's kind of weird at first, when Shepard asks him to touch her breasts. Weird in a kind of "those for feeding your children" kind of way. But he warms up to them eventually. At the end of the day, he's happy to do almost anything in the bedroom that pleases her because he likes to see her happy.


	12. Denial

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by my own shortcomings.
> 
> Mass Effect and all associated characters belong to Bioware. I make no money from this fanfiction.

She's so sensitive she can hardly stand it.

He comes to bed, fresh from a hot shower and burning with desire. She pretends to be asleep.

"Siha," comes his soft whisper, a warm palm restign on her shoulder. She doesn't stir, but he knows. He can tell by her breathing that she is avoiding him under the guise of rest.

With a quiet sigh, he shimmys down by her side in their bed. She's not in the mood tonight. It's been weeks since they made love and in moments like these he scorns both her and himself. How selfish that she denies him her body. How even more selfish of him to think he's entitled.

Many times she's said it's not him. He is no less desirable than ever, and yet his touch nauseates her.

He recalls the last time, his lips moving over her breast, her forced murmurs of pleasure. He can hear the pain in her voice when she whispers for him to stop. "Don't worry about me," she soothes, a sad smile on her lips. Slowly, she parts her legs for him, strokes his length, wills him to get something from their failed intimacy.

So he does, his body wills him to, but his regret in the aftermath is overwhelming. He doesn't understand why it feels good for her then, how she cries out beneath him and clutches desperately at his shoulders, but doesn't climax. Doesn't even come close. Every woman is different, this he knows. But how is he to handle her? It tears her up as much as it does him. Two souls struggling for everything in the midst of war, and he can't even please her.

He loves her. Every day he fears to share with her this revelation, afraid that she doesn't feel quite the same. For him, for all drell, a person is only whole when the body and soul are in harmony. He feels her disconnection, her unease and shame as she shifts beside him, still awake, still pretending she's not. In the end, it's not just his physical intimacy her body refuses, but his heart as well.

All she has to do is let go. Let go of the anxiety her body brings her, let go of her fears and just be. But these are things she holds close, he knows. As afraid to live without them as she is to live with them.

She is not ready to let go tonight. Maybe another night, but not this night. His arm settles across her waist and he pushes a soft kiss into her hair. He will be ready when she is.


	13. Denial

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Years from now, Commander Shepard will be a legend, taught in the history books of every race. Celebrated. But for now, she is just a woman with a heavy heart.
> 
> I took liberties in bending the ending to suit my needs. Let's just assume the relays survive, or were rebuilt very quickly, after the the reapers were destroyed.
> 
> Mass Effect and all associated characters belongs to Bioware. I make no money from this fanfiction.

She arrives on an humble civilian transport to Kahje, alone, choosing to wait in customs with the rest of the passengers. Normal, just like everyone else.

Today is a day for mourning, for remembering, for honoring the lost. She stands on the rainy shores where his last rites were spoken, her desert willow flowers looking wilted from their long journey.

It's been six years since he passed. She's almost glad there is no headstone, no ashes, nothing for her to see except endless grey ocean. If there were anything left of him, if she should see him now, all the scars on her heart would be torn anew. Yes, what he said was right. Time has eased the memory of his passing. She has no tears now, not after so long, not after so many exhausting spent nights weeping at the loss of his warmth. But her heart is sore, and she will never forget the first man she truly loved. The only man.

The sky cries for him. The whole planet cries for all of them, all of the lost, all of the mourning families nearby. Tiny boats made from dried sea vines, delicately inscribed with messages, float into the horizon, swallowed by the sea and rain before they ever stood a chance of meeting that junction of ocean and sky.

One by one, she plucks the desert willows from their stems and sets them afloat on the water. With each one, a wish, a prayer, a goodbye. So many goodbyes. It seems silly to say goodbye after six years, but part of her will never accept that he's gone.

The sun in the grey sky is but a murky sphere sinking into the horizon. The icy waves kiss her fingers, and for a moment she hears his voice on the wind. It brings a sad smile to her face.

She whispers thanks to Kalahira for watching over him. She will join him one day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have headcanon that Thane was “buried” the same way Irikah was. I have headcanon that they were both buried disrobed. They came into the world that way, and the will leave the world that way.
> 
> There are no tombstones for Thane or Irikah, or any of the other drell or perhaps hanar that are buried at sea this way. But there is a day every year when at least the drell come together on the shores and pay their respects. Maybe in a humanlike tradition, like with the candles on little boats, but probably not because it rains so often. Maybe flowers or natural bioluminescence.


	14. The Job

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tumblr prompt: "I was thinking the target's in the midst of sexytimes when Thane finds him / her / them (your choice). And from there out play things however you want. :)"
> 
> Mass Effect and all associated characters belong to Bioware. I make no money from this fanfiction.

My fingers stroked the trigger as the scene unfolded before me.

The target, a drell colored lighter green than I, was pressed against a human woman. Thick black hair tumbled over her dark shoulders as she pulled it loose from its hold. The look on her face was telling, eyes heavy lidded, lips curling up into a suggestive smile as his hands roamed from her hips to her bottom.

I sighed heavily, their intentions obvious. It was going to be hard to get a clean shot as long as they were entangled this way. Her eyes eased shut as his lips met hers. Never mind hard, it was going to be impossible to complete the contract as long as she was even in the room. It wouldn't be right. I imagined the look on her face as a bullet tore through her lover's heart. The experience would haunt her forever.

I readjusted my position and made myself comfortable, my rifle pointed at him all the while. I would not lose focus. The moment she left, his life would end.

Still I watched them. Through the scope, I saw the way his hands tangled in her thick hair, how she fisted her hands in his shirt. Before long they had made their way to the bed.

I'd always thought human anatomy to be strange. Where drell had scales all over their bodies, humans had hair. Their bodies were soft and vulnerable, susceptible to burns even from exposure to their native star, but surprisingly resilient. They healed quickly, and could prove to be formidable opponents in combat. But their prowess in combat was all I knew. As this woman's skin was bared before my quiet gaze, I learned a few more things.

Her breasts fit neatly into his eager palms. Though her sounds of pleasure were lost to my ears, her body told me everything, even more so when he bowed his head to her breast. His tongue teased her nipple to a stiff peak as she writhed beneath him, hips wriggling against his. I had learned that humans had breasts for the purpose of feeding their newborn children, and it was well known that men throughout the galaxy had a certain lust for them, but this…

I found myself captivated, hardening quickly as the target wriggled his woman out of her shorts. His fingers slipped easily into her glistening, wet flesh. She arched beneath him, hands fisting in the sheets as his thumb brushed over the small nub nestled between her folds. Her flesh was red, swollen, flushed with the heat of arousal, and so very different from my own species. But there she was, naked and aching beneath my target, fully enjoying what neither of them knew would be their last night together. And I was very, undeniably, uncomfortably turned on.

Fascinated by her supple skin, I wondered eagerly what she felt like, how warm she was that close to her core, how it would feel to make love to her. How her soft, swollen lips would feel around my cock, her hot human tongue running over each subtle ridge just as she was doing to him. Slowly, I freed myself from my pants, one hand steady on the trigger as I stroked myself with the other. She was climbing over his hips. I swore, wishing in vain for a better view as she positioned him at her opening and slowly descended his length. Oh my god.

Her ample breasts bounced as she rode him, leaning back toward his knees and finally offering me the view I suddenly so desperately wanted. My hand furiously pumped my erection, breath hissing through my teeth at the familiar friction. Her fingertips rolled against the center of her pleasure, her slick skin leaving a glistening trail on his length with every rise of her hips.

For only a few agonizing minutes, my world was theirs. She came first, and I with her, my rifle wavering with the force of my orgasm.

I struggled to regain my focus, doing what I could to clean myself up as I waited again for the moment to take my shot.


	15. Simple Truths

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mass Effect and all associated characters belong to Bioware. I make no money from this fanfiction.

When they finally meet again after so long, the whole world seems to sigh with gratitude.

There isn't much to say, and even if there were, the right words do not exist. They hold each other and the chaos around them drifts away like smoke on the wind. For a moment, they forget about his illness, about the war. A shroud of hope settles around them. Everything is going to be okay.

In the depths of her mind she knows the sea will call him away far too soon. They have very little time left. But it all seems so distant when she crawls beneath the sheets with him. Their lips meet and she drinks him in. The memory of how he tastes will be as fleeting as this very moment, but why should that matter? Simple, irrefutable truths slip like sand through her fingers. They can change nothing. There isn't anything more to do except love and be loved.

And she loves him. She doesn't know why she's never told him, so she tells him now. The feeling is so true and powerful that she chokes back tears born of raw emotion, clinging to him as his kiss becomes a new animal, primal and hungry. Hands greedy for skin, his lust sweeps her under, and the world outside their room ceases to exist.

When his time comes, her love for him will leave a hole in her heart, and she will never be the same. She will think how ironic it is that love can leave such awful scars. But she will see him again when her life is over.

Everything is going to be okay.


	16. Rich History

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A user on tumblr requested "Thane asking James how Shep survived during house arrest!"
> 
> Mass Effect and all associated characters belong to Bioware. I make no money from this fanfiction.

"How long have you been working with Shepard?"

"I guess I wouldn't call all of it really working with her. I was a sort of prison guard during her incarceration." His brows drew together in thought. "I wasn't really a guard, though. More of a contact. I delivered her mail, escorted her where she needed to go. I was posted outside her door a lot. Anderson assigned me to her crew after the reapers came."

I grimaced at the thought of reaper forces demolishing her home planet. But his words caught my attention. "You delivered her mail?"

"Yeah. She got a few letters every week. Most of them from her old crew. Some of them from inspired kids telling her to 'fight the good fight.' And official documents, of course. She was always real excited to get her mail."

It was curious, then. If she received my letters, she had never sent one in return. "Did she write any of them back?"

"Wasn't allowed to, actually. She hated it, too. There was this guy she told me about, begged me to send out letters to him in secret. I told her whatever it was it wasn't worth me losing my job over. I felt bad, though. She told me once that she might never see him again, that he was very sick. But rules are rules, I guess. Whoever that guy is, though," he whistled. "He's one lucky son of a bitch. Let me tell you."

I looked away to hide the smirk on my lips. "If he's still alive."

He looked away. "Yeah. I can only hope so. She used to talk to him sometimes, you know? She used to…" He stopped, abruptly shaking his head and fidgeting where he stood. "I really shouldn't be telling you this."

 _Yes, you should be telling me this._ I pressed him, casually. "This man she spoke of, did she mention his name?"

"Nope. There was this one time, though…" his weight shifted from one leg to the other in his obvious discomfort. "I mean, I hadn't meant to intrude on her privacy but I heard some strained sounds coming from her room and I thought maybe she was in pain so I listened at the door for a moment…"

I raised an eyebrow as he trailed off. He finally continued, his voice quiet.

"I think she was… you know… having a moment with herself. She was saying some things… you know, like you might hear in a Fornax vid. I can't even bring myself to repeat the shit she said, but it sounded like she was calling for someone named Thane?"

I grit my teeth as my blood rushed south. Me. She was calling for _me._ And I could only imagine her, sprawled out on her bed with her hand between her thighs, fingers curling inside herself like I'd always done, calling my name. A memory swept me under, her face flashing behind my closed eyes, her voice at my ear, _"Oh god, Thane, oh my god…"_

I nodded my head as the memory faded. "Perhaps you were right when you said you shouldn't be telling me these things."

"Oh shit man, don't tell me you're going to go tell people I told you this."

"Perhaps not… but Commander Shepard and I share a rather… rich history."

"Yeah, uh, about that. Just pretend like we never talked, okay?"

"I'll give Shepard your regards," I said with a smirk, and left him with his thoughts.


	17. Foreign

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tumblr prompt: "Thane and Shepard closing up their translators. Entire sex and dirty words is in their native languages."
> 
> My headcanon is that Thane with his perfect memory would have an easy time learning Shepard's language, but this was a sexy prompt so I took it :)
> 
> Mass Effect and all associated characters belong to Bioware. I make no money from this fanfiction.

They'd talked about it on a few occasions - sex without their translators. But it's completely by mistake that Thane happens into Shepard's cabin while she's working on her omni tool.

"Siha," he greets her. She looks up from her work and smiles at him as he sits on the sofa beside her.

He begins to speak and she stops. Perhaps she hadn't realized she'd disabled her translator, but she turns to him with curiosity as she listens to him speak and puts the pieces together. Thane can tell by the look on her face that something is off, as he opens his mouth to ask her, she puts a finger over his lips and touches his wrist.

"Your translator,"she whispers. "Turn yours off too. _And keep talking_."

The sound of him rolls over her like nothing she's ever heard. That raspy undertone in his voice suddenly sounds like it was always meant to be there, complimenting each word like the right wine with a meal. She doesn't understand his language, but she can guess what he's saying as his hands push up her sides after he coaxes her into his lap.

The silence when he kisses her is deafening. She only takes a moment to taste him before she pulls back and looks at him. "I thought I told you to keep talking."

She feels an appreciative rumble through his chest and his lips fall on her neck as he speaks again, murmuring decadent words into her skin.

Later, breathless and thoroughly sated, they'll fix their translators and teach each other words from their native languages. But that moment seems years away as she slips his jacket from his shoulders and allows herself to be especially vocal in her pleasure.


	18. More Important Things

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tumblr prompt for cuddles on a rainy day. But I felt like writing smut so this happened.
> 
> Mass Effect and all associated characters belong to Bioware. I make no money from this fanfiction.

It doesn't rain on the Citadel.

It's raining in Shepard's apartment though, or at least pretending to. Windows emanating soft grey light, the sounds of soft rainfall filling the space around them. Business outside in the presidium continues as usual.

She has to be somewhere and she's already running late. "What could be more important than this?" he murmurs, and pulls her back down into bed. His scales are cool and dry and in an instant she's inclined to agree with him. Forget everything else. She didn't want to get dressed anyway.

Moments like this are rare. Relaxed, private moments where the world seems to stand still, to pause for a moment until they're good and ready to continue with 'important' things. Her grey camisole is forgotten on the floor and his loose pants are kicked off in favor of the sensual slide of skin on scales. She loses herself to him, luxuriates in his hands humming along her skin, down her belly and over her thigh to the aching flesh between her legs. Her world narrows down to that point of contact and she forgets to breathe, the simulated rain against the window echoing in her skull until his lips brush her ear and she jolts back to reality.

Without a doubt, Thane absolutely loves this about Shepard. He can almost hear her arousal singing through her body as she flings him off her, climbing over his hips and sinking on to his erection. The heat of her body takes his breath away. She's wild and vigorous, grinding on him for all she's worth with her eyes shut tight to focus that much more of her energy on their shared pleasure.

What a sight she is to behold. There's a blush spreading across her chest, a pale pink dusted across her creamy human skin. She's a thousand different shades of red, in fact. Glistening pink lips, fire red hair, flushed heated skin, to say nothing of her unbound breasts he's grown so fond of. A shudder races through him as she cries out. Fire. So many things are like fire, but nothing so much as Shepard. She's close and he can tell by the way her body tenses and she bears down on his hips with the most exquisite pressure, and at the moment of her climax he grips her thighs and drives into her fast and hard - the way he knows she loves it.

When they're spent and panting, she rolls off him and settles by his side. She remembers she has somewhere to be, but not before she decides she doesn't care. Neither of them are going anywhere today.


	19. Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for hemipenes. I'm not sorry.
> 
> Mass Effect and all associated characters belong to Bioware. I make no money from this fanfiction.

Shepard doesn't know quite what she expected when she fell into bed with Thane, but it definitely wasn't this.

He gives her a moment to evaluate his nudity.

Two. He has two.

He doesn't know quite what he expected either. He watches her face - she's just staring. He knows quite a bit about human anatomy, most of it from a combat standpoint, but still quite a bit. It never occurred to him that she might be surprised by what she sees. For a moment he fears she might send him away. But then her face splits into a grin and she leans in, touches him softly and kisses him with need.

That first tentative touch makes him gasp. It's been a long time, after all. And it only gets better from there. Her mouth is soft and hot, absolutely incredible, switching attention between each shaft and making up the loss on the other with a skilled hand. She works him until he can't stand it anymore, and he pulls her up for another heated kiss.

Her soft whisper at his ear makes his eyes widen in surprise. Pulling back to look at her, he sees the lust in her eyes and surrenders all control to her. Moments later she's taking him, all of him, into her body, and he will never forget the look on her face - or the sensation of her heat.

He's never done this before, never even thought about it, really. The positioning is awkward and weird but the feel of her body, the sounds on her lips, more than make up for it. They move together slowly - because even though they've just begun, they're teetering on the edge of climax and neither of them wants this to be over. His kiss is sloppy, panting into her mouth with the effort it takes to drag this out just a little more, just a second longer. He'll be able to revisit this memory again, but somehow he thinks that even his perfect memory will not compare.

He reaches his hand between her thighs and rubs jerky circles on her clit, feeling his climax rushing on him faster than he can think and wanting to bring her with him. His cry of release is hoarse. She clenches around both of his shafts and the pleasure is blinding. Perfect. Incredible. It's not clear how long they stay like this - shaking and gasping, still tangled together on the bed.

But the relay is still a few hours out. And when she finally catches her breath, the look on her face screams that she's not done with him yet.


	20. Norman

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A user on tumblr prompted me to write Thane and Shepard getting a puppy! YAY!
> 
> Mass Effect and all associated characters belong to Bioware. I make no money from this fanfiction.

“Thane? Cuddlebutt? Love of my life? Can I ask you something?”

Thane smiled to himself over his tea as Shepard came padding into the kitchen. He hadn’t needed to understand a thing about Earth cultures to know that when she addressed him this way, she was going to ask him for something.

To her credit, however, it wasn’t often that she actually did ask him for something. Thane learned that human women were apparently infamous for being high maintenance, but Shepard appeared to be the exception to the rule. He supposed it was her background as a military child that allowed her to appreciate the simple things in life.

“Yes, Siha?” He listened with curiosity for her response.

She was looking at a video of something on her omni-tool. “Can we… can we get a puppy?” She looked up at him, turning the display so he could see.

On the video were a few small dogs, running around a grassy backyard chasing one another. They were tan and white, with short stubby legs and pointed ears that looked like they wanted to stand up but didn’t quite have the strength, flopping around as they ran.

“They’re called corgis,” she explained, walking closer so he could have a better look. “They’re an earth breed. I want one.”

“I’ve never had a pet before,” Thane mused. He found himself smiling at the puppies on the holo - they were really adorable. “Having a dog is a lot more responsibility than having fish, you understand. We both remember how well those fish fared.”

“Yeah, but I’m retired. I have time for pets. And dogs are a lot more fun than fish,” she said, damn near pouting and giving him her best puppydog eyes.

He rose from his seat. “Of course, Siha. I trust our puppy will live longer than one week.”

She stuck her tongue out at him like a child and he laughed.

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

So it was that they returned from a visit with Kolyat on the Citadel with a small, fluffy, and exuberant little ball of fur. At eight weeks old, he was insatiably curious and excited about literally everything, but he particularly seemed to love Thane.

“I think it’s your scales. I think he likes it better when you pet him because of the scales.”

Their puppy was stretched out on Thane’s lap, cradled on his back like a baby between the man’s thighs. Thane scratched the dog idly on it’s belly, but every time he stopped, it yipped expectantly at him as if to say, “Did I say you could stop?”

“He needs a name, Siha.”

“Did you have any good ones in mind?”

“I had thought you would decide on the name, as it was your idea to get him.”

Shepard sat for barely a moment in thought before answering, excitedly, “Norman. We should call him Norman.”

Thane quirked a brow.

“Like Normandy, only shorter.”

The Alliance Normandy had been decommissioned some years ago, put on display for touring and other historical significance after the Reaper War. But the ship and the name still held a special place in each of their hearts. Their relationship had started aboard that very ship, after all.

Thane nodded his agreement before he turned to the small animal in his lap. “Well? Shall we call you Norman?”

The puppy only yipped in response.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> If you enjoy my fanfiction or you enjoy Thane, please consider entertaining yourself on my drell-centric tumblr. My username is zet-sway.


	21. Oasis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A user on tumblr prompted me to write Thane and Shepard visiting a desert together.
> 
> Mass Effect and all associated characters belong to Bioware. I make no money from this fanfiction.

The porch floorboards were warm beneath Shepard’s bare feet, absorbing the heat of the morning sun. 

Their vacation plans take them to a beautiful resort world with especially private accommodations. There’s no one around for miles. Around their small oasis cabana, the desert sand stretches endlessly beneath a clear sky - a breathtaking and serene landscape.

Shepard stands on the deck, shaded by canvas stretched over sturdy wooden supports. The view from here is much better, she thinks, although the landscape is of little consequence. It’s a different view entirely that she’s admiring.

Stretched out on the pale yellow sand is Thane, slowly arcing from one fluid curve into another as he stretches before his morning routine. His nylon and leather ensemble is long forgotten and packed away in their room, and the only thing adorning his athletic body is a pair of tight black shorts.

He gives no indication of whether or not he’s aware of her presence, so she sips her tea and smiles at the sight of him. He’s beautiful in the sun. His scales are a different hue, a more vibrant green as though simply being under the sun makes him healthier. She supposes he might be. Since their arrival, his demeanor has taken a more upbeat turn. He laughs more often, smiles wider, kisses her with more passion. He’s a different man, and she regrets that they will have to return to the Normandy after their stay.

Of all the places they could have gone, he chose a desert. And now that she sees why, she couldn’t have picked a better place herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> If you enjoy my fanfiction or you enjoy Thane, please consider entertaining yourself on my drell-centric tumblr. My username is zet-sway.


	22. Interrupted

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a pretty old chapter but it seems I forgot to post it to AO3! My apologies, I maintain my works on five different sites so sometimes things get jumbled.

Amid a hushed chorus of sighs and groans, Shepard's omni-tool buzzed on her bedside table for the sixteenth time.

"Maybe you should answer it, sounds important," Thane rasped as Shepard rose to meet a particularly sharp thrust, moaning into his shoulder.

"I'm not... ah-! I could care less about whoever right now- fuck-"

"Mm."

It was rare enough for them to get a moment together. As much as he tried not to show it, he was thoroughly annoyed by any interruptions they encountered. And even through her breathless gasps, he could not ignore the insistent buzzing of her omni-tool.

In one swift movement, he reached to the beside and flicked open the call.

"Commander?" Joker's voice was loud in the relative quiet of their quarters.

Thane smirked as he shifted his position, pulling Shepard's hips into his lap and earning himself a loud moan when the new angle hit her right where he wanted it to.

"Hey I know this is your personal line but I couldn't reach you through the ship's..."

There was a brief pause followed by what sounded like a muffled 'shit' and 'sorry' before the faint static of the call went silent.

Shepard only chuckled softly, brought her arms up around his neck and pulled him down for a searing kiss.


	23. Tailwind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the second time I've gotten a prompt for the first time Thane encounters Shepard. I shudder to think of the first time I filled this prompt, so I decided it needed a revisit. I guess you could call this "write this again," lol. I have plans to revisit most of my old oneshots anyway.

It didn’t surprise Thane that there were other assassins after Nassana. Hearing her guards shouting about another force moving through the building brought a smirk to his lips - he’d always enjoyed a little competition.

As he went, though, he thought more and more that whoever else was hunting his target was a rank amateur. He heard shouts and gunfire echoing through the vents as he crawled through and silently took out guards as he moved. One voice in particular rose above the rest, a human woman, or maybe asari, singing orders to her crew as they moved. Mercenaries, maybe? They couldn’t be Eclipse - that faction was presently attempting to bar his path from the penthouse suite.

And how funny it was that his target had thought to barricade herself at the top of a building with no place to run. He would have to move fast to beat his rival party without the added utility of an elevator. His lungs burned with the effort but he pushed past the pain. If he was going to die today, he would die having completed his contract.

But all the breath was nearly stolen from his body when he peered out of a vent opening and saw her. He recognized her instantly - Commander Shepard.

He’d turned down more than one contract to take her life, and at this particular moment, he was glad he had. Seeing her now, moving from cover to cover with her team, strategically taking down mercenaries with an intuitive combination of biotics and gunfire. What truly caught his attention was her words. She was here for him, whether to kill him or otherwise he couldn’t be sure, but she was tracking him down and shredding everything in her path to find him. All at once she was a warrior angel, sweeping across the battlefield with uninterrupted momentum - truly a force to be reckoned with. He watched her for the short moments he could and then she was gone.

He pushed ahead, taking care not to give away his position as he climbed through the skeleton of the building. Before long, he found himself over the penthouse security room. The rising sun filtered through the shutters, giving him a distorted view of Nassana and her body guards. If he wanted to, he could finish the job. Securing the completed contract would absolve him of any remaining responsibility and he could sit pretty on his victory to await the Commander. It didn’t much matter if she was here to kill him - it would be an honorable death.

Still, he felt compelled to take a final act of showmanship, and so he waited. True to her reputation, it wasn’t long before she arrived.

He gave them a few moments - just short enough to kindle the first inklings of doubt in Shepard’s mind and just long enough to coerce Nassana to drop her guard. At the exact moment they were all distracted, he made his move. One neck snap, a punch to the throat, and two bullets later, he stood vulnerable before her.

"One moment," he said. "Prayers for the wicked must not be forsaken."

Whether she was here to kill him or congratulate him no longer mattered. He prayed to Kalahira for safe passage across the sea and left his fate in the hands of the gods.


End file.
